Box-car loader.



Paten'td May I, 1900, J. m. CHRISTY.

BOX GAR LOADER.

(Application filed July 26, 1898.)

(No Model.)

3 Sheats8heet I.

No. 648,897. Patented May I, 1900. J. M. GHHISTY.

BOX GAR LOADER.

(Application filed July 26, 1898.)

3 Sheets$heet 2,

(No Model.)

No. 648,897. Patented m I, I900. J. M. CHBISTY.

Box cAR LUADER. (Afialimtion filed .m 26, 1898.)

3 Sheetv-Shaet a.

(No Model ficationis deposited therein.

- UNITED 1 STATES PATENT UFFICE.

JOSEPH M. CHRISTY, or .nns MOINES, Iowa.

BOX-CAR LOADER.

s'r'ncrhrcarxoiv forming pm of Lette'rs Patent No. 648,897, dated May 1,1900.

Applicatlonfilad July26,1898.. Serial cameos. (Il'o mam To all whom inmay concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. CHRISTY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des in the county of Polk and- State of Iowa, have invented anew and useful Box-'- Moines,

Car Leader, of which'the followingis a specitliis invention-is to provide a durable, and in-' expensive construction for loading coal or the like into box'-cars.

A further object is to provide a machine of this class which may be positioned'within a box-car very quickly and easily, so that no time is lost in starting the distribution of the One object of coal or in withdrawing'the machine from the ear.

A further object is to provide a conveyor which maybe quickly and easily reversed, so as'to deposit coal near either end of the ear, and thatwithout breaking up the coal when it strikes the receiver or when it is discharged from the conveyor or breaking the car when it This feature of my in- -venti0n,-whereby the coal may be alternately conveyed to the opposite ends of thecar, provides means whereby a man may first remove the impurities'from and properly distribute a' portion of the coal in one, end of the car while the coal is 'being deposited in the other,

and when he has finished the movement of the conveyor is reversed and the coal discharged .in the other end, so that he may work in the opposite end of, the car onthe newlydeposited pile without stopping'the loading ofthecar.

A further object is to provide. simple and easily-operated means whereby the conveyor may be lengthened at' either end to adapt it for use incars of more than the'nsual length.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of partswherev by the objectscontemplated are attained, as

.hereinafter more fully'set fort-h, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- 1 shows in side elevation the complete device.

Figure Fig. 2 shows a verticalsectional view of the same. Fig. Sjllustrates diagrammatically the position which the loader-would assumewithi'n a-earand by dotted lines the'position of the loader before-begear. Fig. 7 shows a the rails in "tudinally thereon 'cru-mjed to a part of the ing turned. Fig. tshows a vertical trans-' verse sectional view. through the complete loader on a central line. Fig. 5 shows a de tailperspeetive view of a portion of the conveyor. Fig. 6 shows a' like view of the device for throwing the conveyor in and out of side view of the leader from the side opposite from that shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 8 shows a side view of a modi fied form of leader with parts taken away to show certain details of construction and with the positions of the conveyer when extended illustrated by dotted lines.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

I have used the reference-numeral 10 to indicate the frame 01' platform upon'which the device is mounted. This is located adjacent to the car-traek'and on the side opposite from thelcoal-chute. .Mounted on the platform 10 is a track 11, formed by rails doubled backwardly over themselves to admit truck-wheels between the upper and lower portions, and thus prevent the wheels from moving upwardly. Braces 12 serve to hold the parts of their'relative positions, and I haye used'the numeral 13 to indicate a frame for containing and supporting the parts of the loader proper. At itsrear end it is supported on the wheels 14,w hich run on therails v 11." The'axle of the forward Wheel is indicated by the numeral 15 and is near the central portion of the frame. There is no support for the outer end of the frame, because said end must project into the car. The upper portions of, the rails serve to hold the frames 13 in a horizontal position.

Power is applied to move the loader-frame in and, out ofa car as follows;

The numeral 17 indicates a shaft mounted in hearings in the frame 13 and having a beltwheel 18 on one end and a bevel gear-wheel 19 on its, other end. If desirable, an engine may be mounted on the rear end of the frame 13 and a belt connected direct with saidbeltwheel, or power may be transmitted to the belt-wheel in any ordinary way. Mounted upon the said shaft 15 is a device comprising two bevel gears 20 and 21 and an annularlygrooved hub 22 betweenthem feathered-to the shaft and capable ofbeing moved longiby means o'fza lever 23, fulframe'13 and having its bifurcated end in said annular groove. 24 indicates a shaft extended longitudinally of the frame 13 and having its hearings in the cross-pieces thereof. 7 On its forward end is a bevel gear-wheel 26, which is designed to mesh with either .one of the gears 20 and 21 when they are moved into engagement there- 1 with or to stand between them and out of envided withJateral extensions 37.

gagement. A bevel gear-wheel 27-is fixed to the rear of this shaft 24 and meshed with the bevel gear-Wheel 19. By means of these parts it is obvious that, assuming that power were being constantly applied to the belt-wheel, the frame may be moved forward or back or stopped in any position by an operation of the lever 23.

On the forward end of the frame 13 is a small platform 28, provided with a circular groove 29 in its top for the reception of the ball 30. The conveyor-frame is composed of the base 31, designed to rest upon the balls 30, so that it may turn with a minimum of applied power. The sides 32 are fixed to the base and are of as great alongtli as may be convenien tly run through a side doorof a boxcar and then turned longitudinally of the car. At the opposite ends of the frame the two shafts 33 are rotatably mounted and the sprocket-wheels 34 are fixed thereon; The conveyor proper is composed of two or more chains of a length and construction designed to run over the sprockets 34 and each composed of solidlinks 35'and side piece 36, pro- To these extension-pieces are bolted the steel crosspieces 38, of a length corresponding to that of the width between the side pieces and of such a width as to almost engage with the next adjoining cross-piece, and one'edge of each cross-piece is turned upwardly to engage the coal. It is obvious as this conveyer moves in either direction the coal will be discharged from one or the other end of the conveyorfra-me. At one side of the conveyer-frame a small platform 39 is fixed to support the end of a coal-chute 40, and at the opposite side the top is extended upwardly at 41 to contain the coal within the frame. On the inner surfaces of the side pieces I have fixed the guides 42, which serve to prevent theconvoyer from sagging at its central portion.

Motion is imparted to the conveyer by in cans of the following mechanism:

The numeral 43 indicates a cog-wheel on the shaft 24, which is meshed with a like wheel 44. This Wheel is fixed to ashaft 45, mounted in bearings in the frame 13 and extended toa pointnear the central portion of the conveyer-frame and provided with a bevel gear- Wheel 46 on its forward end. A short shaft 47 is mounted in the bottom of the conveyerframe and provided with bevel gear-Wheels on each end, the lower one, 48, being meshed with the bevel-wheel 46, and the upperone, 49, being meshedwith the bevel gear-wheel 50, which in turn is fixed to ashaft 51. This shaft extends longitudinally through the side the conveyor-shafts through the chain 56 and sprocket-wheel 57. By means of the mechanism' just described it is obvious that power is transmitted to the conveyer, and upon a reversal of the operating-engine the movements of the conveyor may be changed.

I have provided a device'whereby the con- Veyer may bethrown in and out of gear, so

' that itmay be stopped or started by a person within the car, as follows: The cog-wheel 52 is loosely mounted on the shaft 51 and has a slot 58 in its outer face. 59 indicates a frame fixed to the sprocket-wheel, and 60 a rod slidingly mounted in the frame to move longitudinally of the shaft in the direction of its center, and on the inner end of this red is apawl. A spring 62 serves to normally force the pawl against the end of the shaft, which is also slotted at 63 to receive the pawl. Itis obvious that when the pawl is resting in both of the slots the cog-wheel must rotate in unison with the shaft, and, further, that when it is desirable to stop the conveyer it is only nec;;

.essary for the operator to pull the rod 60 out and place the pawl 61 against the end of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 6, whereupon the pawl 61 will be held out of the slot and will rotate with the shaft.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 8 I have provided means whereby the conveyor may be extended a considerable distance on either side of the machine, to thereby deposit the coal nearer to. the end of the car. As heretofore stated, the frame of the device is of as great a length as may be placed in a box-car and then turned. Hence a device must be provided that may be extended after it is in position within the car. In my modification I use a frame and driving-gear of the same construction and the conveyor is identical also, save that its shafts are mounted in an auxiliary frame 64, which is placed upon the rollers 65 to be capable of a longitudinal movement within themain frame. One end of each of the conveyor-shafts is extended outwardly through a horizontal slot (36 in the main frame and a sprocket-wheel 67, fixed thereto, and 68 indicates a sprocket chain passed over said sprocket-wheels and also under the sprocket-wheel 55, which serves to drive the chain 68. It is obvious that the auxiliary: conveyerframe may be easily moved, so as to project beyond the main frame in either direction, limited only by-the length of the slots 36.. and that the driving chain 68 will not be materially slackened' or tightened at any point throughout the range of movement, but will operate theconveyer equally well at any point. \Vhen the auxiliary frame is extended in either direction, it may be held from moving toward the center of the main frame by placing apin 69 in the opening 70 in the main frame and through an opening in the auxiliary frame. (Not shown.)

Then it is desired to move this auxiliary frame, the pin is drawn out and the frame moved by hand to the desired position.

In practical use and assuming that a car is standing on a track adjacent-to the'loaderit is obvious that the loader may be run into the carbya manipulation of the lever 23 and then easily turned by hand to a position lengthwise of the car. Then the clutch device at the side of the loader is operated and the conveyer'started to move. It is obvious that the coal from the chute will be deposited on a pile near the end of the car, and then by a reversal of the engine the coal is carried to the opposite end of the car, giving an operator time and opportunity to sort over the coal and remove the impurities therefrom.

\Vhen the car is filled, the conveyor may be stopped and the loading device turned and then the entire device withdrawn from the car by the operating-engine, all of which op-' crations may be quickly and easily accomplished and a box-car loaded in substantially the same time that an op'n'c'ar could be.

The advantage of having. the endless con-- uniformly within the car by throwingthe coal any distance desired. In use I prefer to first run the conveyer slowly, so as to load the coal near the conveyer, and. then as the bottom of the car becomes covered with coalincrease the speed to throw the coal to the end of the car.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United-States therefor,.is

1. A box-car loader, comprising in combination, a device capable of movement into or out'of a box-car, a-frame on said device piv- Y otally mounted to be capable of turning in a'- horizontal plane, an endless conveyor on the frame provided with suitable cross-pieces to thereby form a platform .for receiving coal and carrying it to either end of the frame, and means for driving said conveyor in either direction so that coal may be thrown to any desirable distance within the car.

2. A box-car loader, comprising a device capable of movement into or out of a boxcar, a frame on said device pivotally mounted to swing in a horizontal plane, one or more endless chains on said frame, a platform on the chain or chains extending to the ends of the frame and in position to receive coal from a v chute introduced in the opposite side of a box-car, and means for driving the platform in either direction, for the purposes stated.

3. A boxcar-loading, apparatus, comprising in combination, a track to be arranged-at right angles to a railway-track, a truck mou nted on the track and capable of movement so that its one end may enter a car on the track, a plate on one end of the truck, a second plate -m0nnted on the first and capable of turning in a horizontal plane, a frame fixed to the up-.

' per plate, a shaft passed centrally through said plate, a bevel gear-wheel on each end of said shaft, ashaft carried bysaid truck, a bevelgear-wheel thereon meshed with the lower one of the aforesaid bevel gear-wheels,

an endless conveyer on the frame, a short shaft in the frame, a bevel gear-wheel on 1ts lower end meshed with the upper one of the aforesaid bevelgear-wheels, a cog-wheel on the outer end of this shaft, a clutch device whereby said cog-wheel may be thrown in or out of engagement with, its shaft, a second shaft above the first, a cog-wheelthereon meshed with the first cog-wheel, and means haft, for the purposes stated. 4. In a box-car-loading apparatus, the combination, of a truck designed to be run-into or .out of avbox-car,a frame mounted thereon f rdriving the conveyer from this upper and capable of turning in a horizontal plane,

an auxiliary frame within the said frame,

rollers for supporting the auxiliary frame and permitting itslongitudinal movement with said frame, an endless conveyer carried by said auxiliary frame, and having the ends of its shafts projected laterally through the main frame, sprocket-wheels on said shafts, a sprocket-wheel at side of the main frame,

means for driving it,- a sprocket-chain con-- 'nected with the sprocket-wheel of the ,con-

veyer and also with the said latter sprocketwheel, and means for' holding the auxiliary IIC frame in its extended position, substantially and as for the purposes stated.

J OSEPH M. CHRISTY.

"Witnessesz J As. BARELS,

THOMAS G. ORWIG. 

